


Across the Moors

by Blueskydancers



Category: Lord of the Rings RPF, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Aliens, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, M/M, Originally Posted on LiveJournal, UFOs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-28
Updated: 2013-04-28
Packaged: 2017-12-09 20:14:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/777550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blueskydancers/pseuds/Blueskydancers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>ADO, the Alien Defence Organisation exists to protect the Earth's population from UFOs who come here to steal people away. Sean Bean is a senior officer in ADO heading home for Christmas. A minor detour to inspect an ADO listening station on the Yorkshire moors should be a simple thing, unless Sean becomes a target for an alien abduction...</p>
<p><img/><br/>Banner by the lovely Liriel1810</p>
            </blockquote>





	Across the Moors

**Author's Note:**

> Betaed by the wonderful Silvan Lady

**December 24th**  
Sean adjusted his sunglasses against the glare of the bright winter sunshine bouncing off the icy road. The surface was slick so he slowed still further and paid careful attention as he wound his way along the narrow road that crossed the moor. He had planned this trip back to Sheffield, to visit his parents and his daughters for Christmas carefully and had intended to leave headquarters just after lunch, but Viggo’s last minute request for him to make an unannounced inspection of the Heathland listening station meant he had to leave several hours earlier in order to get to his parents’ house at a reasonable time. It wasn’t really on his route, necessitating a fifty mile detour across the Pennines, but Sean had agreed and was now driving slowly along the road that would bring him to Heathland.

Anyone with any sense was indoors because even though the sky was a brilliant blue and the sun was shining the temperature display in the car told him it was below zero outside the big 4x4 vehicle. In his rear view mirror, Sean could see the moon as a faint crescent in the cloudless sky. He remembered his recent inspection trip to ADO’s first line of defence, based on that lonely satellite. The personnel who manned the base had exceptional results, their interceptor pilots destroying ninety per cent of the alien spacecraft that made it into Earth’s orbit. The remainder were usually destroyed high up in the atmosphere by one of ADO’s supersonic Air fighter planes.

The Air fighters were unlike anything Sean had known when he was in the military. A qualified pilot himself, Sean had never had the opportunity to fly one but it was on his list.

Any UFOs that landed were mopped up by ground crews, like the one based at Heathland; which brought Sean back to the reason for his unscheduled visit. The level of threat from the UFOs had increased dramatically and ADO needed all of its resources to be working at peak efficiency. Sean had seen the reports; this week alone, six UFOs had been spotted and destroyed by Moonbase interceptors. A further three had been taken out by Air 1 and Air 2. The resources of whoever was sending the UFOs seemed to be limitless, a fact that depressed Sean as it indicated there would be no quick end to the war they were fighting.

When his communicator chimed softly, Sean pushed the button on the steering wheel that would open the channel. “Bean here.”

“Hey, Sean, how’s the journey going?”

“Fine. It’s bloody icy up here though.”

“But the weather is supposed to be good, I checked the reports only an hour ago and it said bright sunshine.”

“I know that, it makes it even harder to see where I’m going. The glare off the snow is ridiculous.” Sean knew he sounded petulant but he knew Viggo wouldn’t take him seriously.

“The car windows are tinted.”

“Yes, Vig, I know they are and I’m wearing sunglasses.”

“Come on, Sean, for an ex-soldier like you, this visit will be child’s play. Just shake them up and find out why their performance is lagging behind the other stations. Then you can spend Christmas with your family.”

“I’m sure you get me to do all your dirty work for you,” Sean said with no heat in his voice.

“Of course I do, that’s why you’re my second-”

Viggo stopped talking abruptly and Sean heard voices in the background. He was still trying to analyse the words to make sense of them when Viggo came back.

“Sorry, Sean, I’m going to have to go. We’ve got another three UFOs coming in fast. They’ll reach interceptor range in eight minutes.”

“Okay. Keep me posted.” Sean clicked off the radio; Viggo had enough to deal with and it looked as though his job was getting tougher.

It had been five years since Sean had seen his first UFO; he’d been out on Salisbury Plain with his regiment and the sudden appearance of strange lights in the sky had taken them all by surprise. An aircraft, unlike anything Sean had seen before had then appeared, engaging the strange lights in combat and destroying both of them. It had only been later, after he had made a complete nuisance of himself, that Sean had learned of the existence of ADO, the Alien Defence Organisation, and of the threat to the Earth posed by the alien visitors. The information had been classified but he had pulled some strings and when he discovered that there had been a war going on in secret for a number of years, Sean had immediately set about finding out how he could contribute.

It had taken a couple of month’s persistence but Sean had eventually been introduced to Commander Viggo Mortensen, the head of ADO. During their first meeting they had hit it off and that same evening, based on his previous military experience, Viggo had offered Sean the role of his second in command. Once Sean had agreed to take the job, he had swiftly been briefed on the reasons for ADO’s existence and told that study of the bodies recovered from downed UFOs had revealed that the aliens were coming to Earth to harvest organs for transplant to extend their lifespans. The explanation had shocked him and he had vowed to do his best to help defend the Earth and her population.

ADO operated in the utmost secrecy, with their existence known to very few, to avoid panicking the Earth’s population. Finding volunteers to join had not been a problem either, with many relatives of those who had been taken only too willing to sign up. Governments worldwide had contributed to the funding for ADO, and it operated internationally, having allegiance to no single country. The massive funding had guaranteed that ADO had the most sophisticated weaponry possible.

Keeping his eyes on the road Sean had travelled another seven or eight miles when Viggo’s voice came back on the radio.

“Sean?”

“Yeah, Vig?”

“There weren’t three UFOs, there were six. They were shadowing each other closely and we missed them on the radar until we had intercepted the first three.”

“Did the others get through?”

“Yes, I’ve got all fighters on standby until we can track their likely trajectory.”

“Okay, Vig, keep me posted. I know they usually veer off when they pass through the atmosphere.”

“Be careful, Sean, I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m only about fifteen miles from Heathland now so I’ll be there in a bit over half an hour.”

“Okay. I’ll keep you updated on where they are headed.”

Anxious to see first-hand how the personnel at Heathland coped during an alert, Sean increased his speed as much as he could despite the icy conditions.

Ten minutes later Viggo was back. “Sean, they split up. Air 1 has taken out the singleton, but the other two are heading your way. The bastards have gone after senior ADO personnel before so I am going to assume you’re the target. Air 3 is on its way, ETA five minutes.”

“Me? Oh for fuck’s sake. Why would they be after me?”

“Do I really have to answer that? You know how much information you have in your head that could wreck any chance ADO has of combating the UFOs. I’m counting on Air 3 to take out both of them.” Sean could hear the tension in Viggo’s voice.

“Yeah, me too," Sean mumbled, concentrating on making the vehicle move as quickly as possible. As he drove he craned his neck to try to spot either the UFOs or Air 3.

The front wheel dipped alarmingly and Sean corrected instinctively, pulling the wheel until the car was back in the centre of the road again. He breathed deeply, trying to slow his rushing heart. That had been a scare and unless he wanted to do the aliens’ job for them, he needed to watch where he was going or he would end up in a ditch.

Over the noise of the engine, Sean heard another sound. It was deeper, like that of a fighter aircraft, which meant that the cavalry had arrived for him. He had a quick glimpse of the sleek ADO fighter as it flew towards him out of the sun. Shit! That meant the UFOs were coming up from the rear. Glancing in his rear view mirror, Sean caught sight of two eerie silver craft and despite the risk, began swerving backwards and forwards across the road to make himself a more difficult target.

The sky lit up behind him indicating that Air 3 had made its target and one of the UFOs had been destroyed. Air 3’s pilot then pulled his craft into an incredibly tight turn to head back and engage the second UFO. Sean didn’t know the pilot personally but he was thankful he appeared to be such a skilled flyer. Sean could see that his manoeuvre was a risk; for a couple of seconds Air 3 would be vulnerable to attack by the remaining UFO because its weapons would be facing away from the target. That explained the painfully tight, high speed turn – the pilot was doing everything possible to minimise the danger.

The gamble nearly paid off, Air 3 was almost through the turn when the UFO opened fire. Air 3 took a hit but, perhaps because it was moving so fast, it wasn’t a kill shot. Even so, Sean could see that the fighter wasn’t going to be able to stay in the air for very long. By some miracle, the pilot of Air 3 managed to return fire, damaging the UFO. As both craft began to descend, Sean started muttering, “Bail out. Come on, man, bail out now,” to the unknown pilot.

Then, just when he thought it might be too late, Sean saw the cockpit cover fly away from Air 3 and the pilot’s ejector seat push up and away from his terminally damaged craft.

The UFO meanwhile was going down some distance away. Making a split second decision, Sean twisted the wheel and headed down a rough track towards where the pilot of Air 3 was floating down to the ground. Sean knew it was a risk but the man had risked his life for Sean and if he was injured when he landed there was a risk he would be taken by the aliens – if they managed to survive their own crash landing.

Knowing he should make a report, Sean got onto the radio. “Vig, Air 3 is down and so is one of the UFOs. The other was destroyed. Air 3’s pilot has bailed out so I’m going for him. What’s his name in case I need to prove I’m part of ADO?”

“It’s Bloom. Be careful, Sean, Bloom is expendable, you’re not.”

Sean ducked automatically when there was the sound of an explosion just over the next hill signalling the end of Air 3. “Fuck off, Vig, I’m not going to let him fall into the hands of those bastards if I can help it. You know what would happen.”

“Yeah I do. Okay, get him and then get the fuck out of there. I’m sending in search and rescue. It’s going to take them at least a couple of hours to get there if the weather co-operates so I’d suggest heading for Heathland as a priority. Don’t forget to keep the tracer on you at all times if you have to leave the vehicle.”

It only took a couple of minutes to reach the area where the parachute had disappeared and Sean looked around vainly for some sign that the pilot had landed safely. “I know what I’m doing, Vig.”

There was a small copse up ahead and convinced the pilot had landed close by Sean drove on carefully through the trees. Once there the brightly coloured parachute was easily visible, draped across the snow covered ground. Looking around for the pilot Sean spotted him and saw with dread that the man had come down in the worst place possible given the freezing temperatures. He’d landed on a frozen lake and the impact had punched a hole in the ice, sending the pilot into the freezing water.

Pulling the 4 x 4 to a stop, Sean reached over into the back seat and grabbed his insulated jacket, slipping it on before he opened the car door. Once outside he went to the backseat, grabbing his sidearm and a blanket, which was all he had for the pilot.

Hurrying over to the lake, Sean pulled the soaked man out of the water. Sean had a brief vision of dark hair and eyes as he took the pilot’s helmet off and released the parachute harness. The pilot was too dazed to move and Sean knew he needed to get him somewhere warm before he froze to death. The man twitched while Sean worked and reached weakly for his own weapon but he was so cold that he could do nothing but shiver. Hauling Bloom upright, Sean wrapped him in the blanket and threw him over his shoulder. Getting back to the vehicle was more difficult because of the increased weight he was carrying but Sean made it, thankful that he hadn’t let his fitness go even though he spent more time behind a desk now that he’d ever done in the past.

Reaching the car, Sean pulled open the back door and shoved Bloom inside unceremoniously, before climbing back into the driver’s seat. Gunning the engine he turned around and headed back through the trees, at the same time hitting the heater switch and setting it to full. Heathland was maybe eight miles away and he needed to get there quickly.

As he drove, Sean could see two separate plumes of smoke funnelling up into the clear blue sky. One looked to be coming from closer to the road and Sean hoped that was the wreckage of Air 3 and not the UFO. While he prayed those on board the UFO had perished in the crash, it wasn’t a sure thing. The aliens seemed to have the properties of cockroaches, surviving almost anything.

Leaving the cover of the trees, Sean saw something flash ahead, as though a piece of metal had reflected the sunlight. Without thinking he stood on the brakes, bringing the 4 x 4 to a skidding halt. His passenger unfortunately didn’t stop and with a crash Bloom slid off the back seat and down into the gap behind the front seats.

“What’s the fuck’s going on and who the hell are you?”

Sean heard the sound of scrabbling behind him as Bloom tried to right himself.

“I’m Sean –”

“Right, Sean, or whatever your name is, why didn’t you just keep on driving? Are you stupid? Didn’t you see what was going on? You shouldn’t have come after me and put yourself into more danger.” All this was said through chattering teeth.

Sean opening his mouth several times to interrupt the tirade but couldn’t get a word in. Just when it seemed that Bloom would run out of breath and Sean might be able to explain who he was, there was an explosion right next to them and one of the trees began to fall. Putting the car into gear, Sean floored the accelerator again and headed back down the track. Bloom fell backwards onto the seat and then, grabbing onto the back of both front seats he pulled himself forwards until he could see out of the windscreen.

“Just keep on driving but watch the road,” Bloom muttered.

“I would never have thought of that,” Sean snapped back.

Two more explosions shook the ground close by and Sean swerved desperately, trying to keep control of the car. They slithered around a bend in the road and Sean hoped they were out of range of the alien rockets, or it was going to be a very short trip. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than another explosion rocked the car and this time their luck had run out.

The 4 x 4 was thrown across the road and into a deep, ice filled ditch. The car tipped to one side and because he hadn’t had time to re-fasten his seat belt, Sean hurtled across the car smacking his leg into the gear stick as the car came to a sickening halt. His head hit the rear view mirror but fortunately he didn’t lose consciousness. He was aware of Bloom being similarly thrown around in the back seat.

No sooner had the car come to rest than Bloom was reaching up to open the opposite window so that he could pull himself out into the frigid air. He looked back at Sean in concern.

“Are you okay? Can you get out if I break the window?” He pointed at the driver’s window.

Sean shook his head, “It’s okay, I can come out the way you did, just give me a second.

Moving into the back of the car, Sean passed the blanket out to Bloom and then pulled himself up onto the side of the car. From his vantage point he could see two figures, in the appallingly familiar alien spacesuits, heading in their direction.

Bloom must have seen them as well because he grabbed Sean’s arm and pulled him onwards, gesturing back towards the trees. “We need to get under cover, if they can see us they can shoot us.”

Not bothering to thank Bloom for pointing out the fucking obvious, Sean nodded and headed back into the small copse of trees. Not that the cover would help them for long, it wasn’t thick enough and there was only going to be so long they could play tag with the aliens. The weight of his weapon in his pocket was reassuring and Bloom was armed, that gave them a fighting chance. If the worst happened though, Sean knew he would put a bullet in Bloom’s head and then his own before he allowed them to be captured and shipped off planet to be used as organ donors or worse.

The next thirty minutes were pure hell. All they could do was run, so run they did, pursued relentlessly by the two surviving aliens. It may have been down to their different physiology but the aliens seemed to be able to keep on moving and at a slightly faster pace than Sean or Bloom could manage. This also meant that Sean hadn’t the breath to explain to Bloom who he was.

Sean knew these hills like the back of his hand. He’d spent weeks training up here before his successful application to the SAS more than fifteen years before. He knew which direction they should be going and fortunately it was generally downhill which meant they could maintain a decent pace. But Bloom was already beginning to struggle; no doubt down to the amount of energy his body was still expending trying to keep warm. His clothes hadn’t had time to dry and as the wind picked up, each mile an hour of wind would make the temperature appear one degree colder.

Bloom was fit but he wasn’t going to be able to keep going at this speed for the time they needed to cover the five or so miles to the safety of Heathland. The sun was also going down and when it did the temperature would drop further. Sean began searching his memory to try to identify some sort of shelter for them. What they needed was to find somewhere to hide, where they could rest up until the search and rescue teams reached them. Sean patted his pocket; the tracker was still safe so it was only a matter of time until help arrived.

They reached a sudden rise in the ground and instead of climbing up and over it, Sean led them along the side of the ridge which served two purposes: it kept them off the skyline and in the shadow of the hill so they were harder to see or to target and it also protected them from the wind. What worked against them though was the snow which had drifted in the lee of the slope and at times they were wading through snow which was three feet deep. They had slowed down to cross one such drift when Sean heard an odd noise. When he looked around he quickly realised the sound was Bloom’s teeth chattering as he shivered despite the exercise and the blanket over his shoulders. His breath was also coming in painful gasps.

Okay, shivering was good but the involuntary movement would use up Bloom’s remaining energy reserves even faster. The real danger would be when he stopped shivering and became sleepy. Sean had heard of cases where people affected by hypothermia would try to take off their clothes even though it was the last thing they should do. While he wouldn’t mind seeing Bloom without clothes – as the thought popped into his head Sean stopped himself; it seemed the cold was getting to him too.

“How’re you doing?” Sean asked the question, bracing himself for a sarcastic answer.

“Not good.” Bloom’s honest answer worried Sean more than a snappy retort would have done.

Thinking quickly, Sean pointed downhill. “See the trees?”

“Yeah.”

“Think you can make it that far?”

“Okay.” Without another word Bloom turned and started off.

Sean waited until he was moving and turned to follow but as he did he saw the dying sunlight glint off something metallic and far too close. “Fuck it!” Bloom gave no indication he’d heard Sean’s outburst, just carried on plodding along.

All along Sean had known they would not be able to outrun the aliens and he had planned to reach somewhere he could stage an ambush. Fortunately, this was one of the locations he had considered. Sean hoped the fact that neither he or Bloom had made any attempt to stop and defend themselves would convince the aliens they were harmless.

Bloom didn’t make it to the trees. Five yards from the first of the pines, he went down and after a couple of feeble attempts to rise he stopped and lay unmoving in the snow. Making a fast decision, Sean continued past Bloom into the forest, stopping only to relieve him of his weapon before crouching amongst the first row of trees. It felt immoral to use Bloom as bait but Sean knew it would bring the enemy in closer and persuade them that he had decided to give up Bloom and save himself. Sean just hoped they arrived while there was still some light in the sky; he didn’t have any way of improving his night sight and they both needed to find shelter quickly or they would freeze to death.

Fortunately, Sean didn’t have long to wait. The suits meant that the aliens didn’t communicate in a way he could hear but the sounds they made as they hurried through the snow carried on the wind. Sean lay prone with the gun clutched in both hands holding it steady despite the fact that his body was not co-operating and his hands were numb.

Knowing from ADO research that the most vulnerable point on the suits was the transparent visor, Sean took aim as the humanoid figures drew closer. They slowed as they neared Bloom but before they could touch him Sean fired twice, one shot to each visor. By some miracle he was on target and he followed it up with several more shots, to the head and body. A bit anticlimactically both aliens went down on their backs and lay unmoving. The blue liquid that filled their suits, enabling them to breathe, leaked from the bullet holes, staining the snow around each body a sickening colour.

Confident they were not going to be a problem any longer, Sean picked up the weapons they had been carrying. Then, he carefully rolled the ADO pilot over and somehow managed to get him up and across his shoulders. There was a small windowless, shepherd’s hut on the other side of the forest and Sean knew that if they were to have a chance of surviving the night he had to get them there.

It took longer than Sean imagined so it was completely dark by the time they reached the shelter. Not bothering with finesse, he put Bloom down beside the door and then kicked it open. After checking it was empty, he moved quickly, dragging Bloom inside and shutting the door, propping it closed with a handy rock.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he made out the rough fireplace and the stack of kindling waiting. Sean tried to strike one of the matches in the box on the ledge over the fireplace but it was impossible, his hands were shaking too much. Making himself stop and take a deep breath, he tried again and this time offered his thanks when the paper under the small twigs caught. Feeding the flame carefully, he got the fire going, placing larger logs on the hearth to dry out for later use.

There were a couple of old mattresses standing over against the wall and Sean pushed them together to make a rough bed for them. He found a couple of worn blankets, and praying they weren’t full of fleas, he used one to cover the mattresses.

His next task was to do something for Bloom. With hands that were barely working, Sean slowly stripped off his soggy flying suit and the protective under suit. Bloom’s skin was ice cold and his breathing shallow. With a groan, Sean quickly pulled off his own jacket and sweater and his damp trousers, then he lay down next to Bloom, pulling the unconscious man into his arms and finally wrapping the blankets and his jacket around the pair of them. Holding Bloom was like hugging a block of ice and Sean guessed it was a toss-up between him being able to warm Bloom and the other man dragging Sean’s body temperature down to dangerous levels.

Finally Bloom started shivering. Exhausted, Sean kept his gun within easy reach and tried unsuccessfully to keep his eyes open. In the end he gave in and let himself doze.

When he woke, Bloom was much warmer and even seemed to be waking. In case his companion took exception to finding himself naked with another man, Sean tried to move away and was surprised when Bloom held onto him and said, “It’s okay, I understand. It’s standard survival procedure for hypothermia, I would have frozen to death otherwise.”

Reaching over, Sean threw one of the dryer logs onto the fire, waiting while flames flickered up and over the bark. “Even with the fire in here, it’s not going to warm up too much. How’re you feeling now?”

“Thirsty but I’ll be okay.” Bloom didn’t pull away and if anything burrowed closer against Sean. “What happened to the ones following us?”

“I shot them.”

“What? How?”

Sean ducked his head feeling a little embarrassed to admit that he had used Bloom as bait. “I’m sorry –”

“It’s Orlando.”

“What?”

“My name, it’s Orlando.”

“Oh right, I’m Sean but I told you that. When you fell I hid and used you to lure them closer, then I shot them.”

“That’s impressive and took a lot of nerve. Are you military, Sean?”

“I was, it’s been a family tradition; the first sons from the last ten generations have been soldiers.”

“Oh. I guess that could explain why headquarters told me it was important you didn’t fall into their hands.”

Orlando closed his eyes and Sean felt a moment of panic. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just tired.”

“Rest now, you used up all of your resources keeping warm. Help should be here soon.” Sean spoke the words hoping to reassure Orlando but they weren’t needed as he was already asleep.

Sean tried to work out how long it would take for help to arrive but gave up. Instead he found himself studying Orlando’s sleeping features. What with everything that had taken place, Sean hadn’t had much time to look at Orlando but now he could observe to his heart’s content. He was an attractive man but he was also a member of ADO and while any sort of involvement between personnel wasn’t overtly encouraged it wasn’t exactly frowned upon. Of course Sean didn’t even know if Orlando’s preferences ran to men. It was Sod’s Law, the first time in ages Sean had seen anyone who piqued his interest and he was unsure if he should act on it.

Sean dozed a little and when he checked his watch realised it had been more than three hours since he and Orlando had taken shelter in the hut. Worried that it was taking too long for help to reach them, Sean crawled out from the blanket, shivering when the cold air hit his skin. Pulling on his clothes, he put more wood on the fire and went over to look outside. As soon as he edged the door open by an inch or so, he saw the reason help hadn’t arrived; a curtain of thick snow obscured everything more than three feet from the hut doorway. So while ADO would be able to trace him, they were probably going to have problems reaching the remote hut before morning.

Frustrated Sean headed back to the fire. It might be a bit warmer inside because they were out of the wind but they wouldn’t last more than ten minutes outside in the blizzard that was raging.

What a wonderful way to spend Christmas! Sean was trapped with a gorgeous, semi-naked man who he shouldn’t make a move on, even if he knew his preferences. This situation just got better and better.

Orlando hadn’t moved so Sean undressed and got back under the blankets, spreading his coat over the top. Sharing body heat, even with the fire was necessary to ensure they survived the night.

Something woke Sean again; from the state of the fire he knew he couldn’t have been asleep for more than another hour or so. He looked around the hut but nothing had changed. Without thinking, he leaned over Orlando to throw some more wood on the fire and before he had a chance to move away, Orlando’s hand slid around his neck and pulled him down until their bodies were flush against each other. Still drowsy, his lips touched Sean’s face.

Fighting his body’s instinctive reaction, after all he’d not long ago been fantasising about just this sort of thing, Sean spoke urgently, “Orlando, you’ve got to wake up.” As much as Sean wanted to accept what Orlando was offering, Sean knew he would be taking unfair advantage of him right now.

“What?” Watching Orlando’s face, Sean saw the exact moment he woke fully and realised what he had done. “Oh shit! I’m sorry, Sean. I must have been dreaming.” He tried to move away but he was pinned by Sean’s weight.

“It’s okay.” Sean moved away to give Orlando some space but he watched him carefully in case he tried to leave the warmth of the blankets.

“But…”

“No really it’s okay.”

“You mean..?”

Smiling Sean said, “You’re really going to have to make an effort to finish your sentences you know.”

“Um, yeah, you’re right. Um, so when you said it’s okay, you meant it was okay, really okay?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Jesus, Sean, I want you to know that I don’t make a habit of groping blokes, I’ve only just met.”

“I figured that out. You’d just woken up so were disorientated. Don’t worry about it.”

“Right.” Orlando settled back onto the rough mattress, still looking adorably embarrassed.

But as much as he knew he should, Sean couldn’t deceive Orlando and pretend he didn’t want to be closer to him. “I have to tell you something, before this goes any further, though I hope it does.”

“Shit! You’re not going to tell me you’re married are you?”

“Not any longer. The thing you really need to know is my full name. It’s Sean Bean.”

“Sean Bean?” Orlando pulled back a little further. “You’re ADO’s Deputy Commander, Mortensen’s second in command. Oh shit, I’ve fucked up my career now, haven’t I?”

With a sigh Sean shook his head. “No you haven’t. I needed to tell you the truth but I want you to see us now as two men, Sean and Orlando, who are attracted to each other and who are about to see where that might lead.”

“But what about regulations?”

“They don’t say anything about relationships between members of ADO; it’s not like being in the military where that sort of thing is frowned upon. I wrote the regulations so I should know.”

“I’m attracted to you and would like… But what would Commander Mortensen say?”

“Knowing Viggo he’d be happy. He’s been trying to get me paired off with someone for ages.” Throwing caution to the wind Sean took one of Orlando’s hands and rested it against his chest. “You said you didn’t make a habit of groping blokes you’d only just met. Could you make a habit of it with a man you’ve known for a few hours?”

After several moments in thought Orlando finally said, “I might be persuaded.” The he grinned and began to slide his hand lower. “It is Christmas after all.”

~~~~

Light was creeping in around the ill-fitting door the following morning when Sean woke again. Orlando was laying half on top of him with his head pillowed on Sean’s shoulder. Sean yawned and immediately became aware of several niggling aches in certain areas. He smiled, he fully expected Orlando to be suffering similarly. They’d managed to be satisfyingly creative last night despite what they’d been through.

Sean touched Orlando’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s time to wake up now. The rescue team could be here any moment and we should get dressed.”

Pushing himself up on his elbows, Orlando nodded, leaning closer he gave Sean a lingering kiss which started his head swimming.

At that precise moment, the door was thrown open and a familiar figure rushed inside. Even in silhouette and despite his bulky cold weather clothing, Sean recognised Viggo.

“Sean, are you okay? I was really worried when we couldn’t get …” Viggo’s voice tailed off.

Oh well, he may as well get this over with. “Hey, Vig, good to see you. It’s not exactly what it looks like…”

After giving the team outside a thumbs up, Viggo pushed the door shut and came and stood over them. Sean had assured Orlando that Viggo wouldn’t have a problem with them being together and he very much hoped he wasn’t going to have to eat his words.

“Let me guess…” Viggo grinned at Sean. “Hypothermia so you had to share body heat?”

“Of course. Orlando bailed out into a frozen lake. He was going to freeze to death.”

“Hypothermia, my ass!” Viggo was teasing him, Sean knew him too well to believe otherwise but Orlando didn’t.

“Commander Mortensen, Sir. I can explain,” Orlando blurted out. It looked like he was going to try to stand to attention so Sean grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the cocoon of blankets.

Sean wasn’t going to let Viggo worry Orlando, no matter how much fun his friend thought it was. So, despite his nakedness, Sean stood and faced Viggo. “It’s not Orlando’s fault, I told him you’d be fine with this.”

Viggo looked very stern. “Really, Sean…” but then Sean’s worried expression made him burst out laughing. “I am, Sean, you must know that, I just can’t resist yanking your chain occasionally.”

“Fine, so as payback, when Orlando has been cleared by the medics, I want both of us to have some time off. I want to take him home to meet my family.”

“I can agree to that. I’ll wait outside for you. As soon as you’ve both got some clothes on, we can get going. ” After patting Sean on the shoulder Viggo strode from the hut, fortunately not forgetting to pull the door shut behind him.

When Sean turned around to look for his clothes he saw that Orlando was staring at him speechless. It took a moment to re-run his conversation with Viggo through his mind to see what had stunned Orlando. Then it hit him, he had assumed that Orlando would want to meet his family, without asking him. He had to explain. Grabbing Orlando’s hand Sean pulled him around so that they were facing each other.

“Listen to me, Lando, please. This wasn’t just a one night stand for me. I’ve been on my own for more than five years, ever since my wife died. I’ve got two daughters who live with my parents in Sheffield because of my job. I was on my way to visit them for Christmas when all this happened. Will you come with me to meet them? I really want you to.”

Sean waited in silence almost holding his breath. Eventually the tension left Orlando’s body and he stopped trying to pull his hand out of Sean’s grasp.

Taking a deep breath he said, “My name is Orlando Bloom. I don’t have any family because my parents and sister were taken by aliens and that’s why I joined the ADO. Whatever happens between us I want to be part of the ADO. I’m a bloody good pilot and I need to keep on fighting.”

Sean nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

Orlando squared his shoulders and stood facing Sean. “Okay, so let’s get dressed, it’s bloody cold in here now, and then I’ll go and see the medics. I’d like to spend Christmas with you even though it’s almost over. Then, I’m willing to see how we go on from there. How does that sound?”

Unable to resist pulling Orlando back into his arms, Sean whispered into his ear, “Like the best Christmas present ever.”


End file.
